R-E-S-P-E-C-T
res-pect: a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. So, I'm sure very many of you are well aware of what I am writing this blog about, and to be entirely honest, it's a long, long time coming. I'm going to be nice about it. This is a slap to the face. It's gonna hurt, but truthfully, I think the time for diplomacy and nice words has long since past, and as many of you know, I was never one to coddle people anyways. Recently, I have noticed that something is entirely absent from the user base and especially the admin team. Respect. No one treats anyone with any sort of decency anymore, to the point where users have felt uncomfortable and attacked. So, as a member of the user base, I am doing my civic duty and writing a letter to the administration of this wiki and to the user base as a hole. We as a wiki need to start treating each other with respect. You don't have to love everyone - god knows I don't love everyone I meet in my life, but I treat them with respect at the very least, which is something that doesn't happen on this wiki. There are several issues on the wiki that I wish to address on this blog put it all comes to one simple solution. Treat EVERYONE with respect. There is a very important fact that I think a lot of people on the wiki often forget - and I'm gonna put it to you quite bluntly, because I am sick and tired of having MY friends come to me on discord, or through owl or a message on another wiki, greatly upset of how they have been treated. THERE IS A PERSON BEHIND THE COMPUTER SCREEN. A real person, with real emotions and feelings who can really be hurt by a couple of ignorant words. As a responsible member of this community, that for many years, I proudly served on the administration for, you must remember that. You have to be careful with how you treat the other users, because, news flash as it seems many of you aren't aware, they are real people. Another issue that I feel is greatly important to helping this wiki move forward is why the Admin Team exists in the first place, and it's the same reason that any representative democracy exists. To represent the people who voted them in, or in DARP's world, the people with the blue username (and black). THAT is where the real power lies - not with the admin team. They were not voted in to represent their own interests or to seek power and if that's why you're on MY admin team, and that's right, MY admin team, because that's who put you there - me and all the other people with the blue username, you have no place on it and should step down and let someone else have your position, someone who understands what it means to be a public servant. The admin team HAS to respect the user base, they're not 'normal' users, they're not 'regular' users, because that implies that the admin team is special, and if you think you're special, let me bring you right back down to earth quick, with three short words. YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL. You are there to serve the needs of the user base - not for yourselves. Something else has also recently been brought to my attention which completely goes against what respect means. Talking about someone behind their back, or another way of putting it, rumors. Nothing will destroy a wiki faster than rumors. Believe me, I've worked at a summer camp for four years, and my boss tells us every year, don't start rumors. I saw first-hand why my first summer when a vicious rumor about someone was spread that split our staff in two for the rest of the summer. Nothing, and I mean, nothing will kill a team faster than rumors. If you have a problem with someone, you better take it up with them personally. Don't talk about it behind their back, and believe me, I know that is going on. To summarize, I am writing this because some very close friends have been hurt by this wiki's user base but to be entirely honest, more specifically the admin team. The admin team has a great deal of power on this wiki, but I think it would behoove them to remember who gave them that power. The user base - and that's who they are there to serve, the user base, each other and lastly themselves. It looks very ugly when it's flipped the other way - and that's why our wiki currently is right now. Everyone on the wiki should be serving themselves last, and right now, I'm gonna be quite honest. Nobody is serving themselves last - it's something we as a wiki need to work on together, and if you're not on board, I have only two words for you. GET OUT, because we don't want you. Signing off, Captain Carnarvan Constituent of Dumbledore's Army Role-Play Wiki